Thursday, March 13, 2014

On October 1, 2015 we will be celebrating the 40th
anniversary of "THRILLA IN MANILA" which is considered by boxing fans as the greatest fight of Muhammad Ali's career.The contest's name is derived from the
frequent rhyming boast made by Ali that the fight would be a "Killa and a
Thrilla and a Chilla, when I get that gorilla in Manila".

Many souvenir items were made to promote
the fight and enterprising individuals made a killing selling these items. To commemorate this great event, I am sharing you some of the memorabilia that came out during the fight.

Memorabilia of the Thrilla in Manila

The Thrilla in Manila was a boxing match between Muhammad
Ali and Joe Frazier, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City of the
Philippines on October 1, 1975. The bout is often ranked as one of the greatest
fights of all-time and is the climax to the bitter rivalry between Ali and
Frazier.

On site program of the Thrilla in Manila fight, October 1, 1975

Promoted by Don King, the Thrilla in Manila had a
tremendous media following. The fight was shown on closed-circuit television in
380 locations in the United States and broadcast to 68 countries worldwide. Ali
was guaranteed $4.5 million against 43% of the gross, while Frazier was
guaranteed $2 million against 22%. Ali ended up with about $9 million and
Frazier made roughly $5 million.

The fight was scheduled for the morning to accommodate
fans watching on closed-circuit television in the United States, which is 12 to
15 hours behind the Philippines.

The mood of the two fighters and their camps could not be
further apart. In Ali's camp, the mood was jovial and lighthearted. According
to Ali's longtime physician and cornerman Ferdie Pacheco, it was believed by
Ali and his trainers that Frazier was washed up after his devastating loss to
George Foreman and the relative ease with which Ali had defeated Frazier in
their rematch. The general consensus was that Ali was doing Frazier a favor,
giving Joe one last big payday before sending him off into retirement. As a
result, Ali did little training, instead concentrating on the torrid affair he
was having with Veronica Porche and amusing the vast entourage that had come to
be nicknamed the "Ali Circus". Later, when Ali's wife Belinda found
out that Ali was not only carrying on this affair but was introducing Veronica
as his wife, she flew to the Philippines and confronted Ali, causing yet
another distraction.

Gold and silver souvenir coins. The coins depict the profile of both Ali and
Frazier and the Philippine map at the back. Measures 40 mm in diameter

Frazier, meanwhile, was training with a grim and
determined intensity. Frazier had a bitter hatred for Ali. He had never
forgiven Ali for the spew of invective Ali had directed at him after they
signed to fight each other in 1971. Ali labeled Frazier as an "Uncle
Tom" and as the "White Man's Champion."

Ali also labeled Frazier as an "ugly dumb
gorilla", deriding him as an inarticulate physical specimen devoid of any
intelligence. Ali famously punched a rubber gorilla meant to represent Frazier
during a press conference while saying "It's gonna be a chilla, and a
killa, and a thrilla, when I get the Gorilla in Manila."

The "Uncle Tom" and "White Man's
Champion" remarks infuriated Frazier, who Ferdie Pacheco described as
"nothing but raging black." Frazier was the son of a sharecropper
from the deep South and a survivor of ghettos in New York and Philadelphia, to
which he moved as a minor by himself to pursue boxing. He had certainly
suffered prejudice and discrimination that Ali had never known.

Furthermore, Frazier felt that Ali had betrayed him
because Frazier had ardently supported Ali throughout his difficulties stemming
from his refusal to enter the U.S. Army. Frazier supported Ali's attempt to
have his boxing license restored and helped him financially during his exile
from boxing, periodically giving Ali hundreds of dollars.

The ad hominem attacks that Ali directed at Frazier were
unforgivable according to Frazier. While Ali has since asserted that he did so
in an attempt to promote their fights and increase the gate, Frazier always
countered that it wasn't necessary because their purses were guaranteed.

Frazier and Ali's relationship and the lasting enmity
that Frazier harbored for many years stems from this period of time.

ARANETA COLISEUM General Admission ticket of the Thrilla in Manila fight, Oct. 1, 1975PHILIP MORRIS Cigarette advertisement at the back.

THE FIGHT

At 10:45 a.m. on October 1, 1975, the bell for the 1st
round rang. Ali had previously told his trainers that he was going to "put
a whuppin'" on Joe Frazier, and he started the fight looking to do just
that. Frazier was known for starting fights slowly, and Ali came out looking to
use that to his advantage. Rather than dance and use his speed to stay away
from Frazier, Ali came out and walked flat-footed to the center of the ring and
proceeded to unleash a flurry of combinations on Frazier. However, to the
amazement of Ali and many watching, Frazier continued to come forward, intent
on punishing Ali's body at close range, despite having to take more and more of
the withering punishment Ali was dishing out in order to do so.

Souvenir sticker of the Thrilla in Manila. Ali-Frazier fight

As Ali began to tire, Frazier turned up his own offense
and began punishing Ali to the body and the head with his trademark hooks. By
the sixth round, Frazier had staggered him in turn and seemed to be gaining
control of the bout. At the beginning of the seventh round, Ali reportedly
whispered in Frazier's ear, "Joe, they told me you was all washed
up." Frazier growled back, "They lied."

Ali-Fraizer POSTER & PRESS PROMO KIT of the THRILLA IN MANILA.

Poster is designed by LeRoy Neiman

Frazier dominated the middle rounds. Ali tried to fend
Frazier off with occasional flurries and spurts of manic activity. He even
unsuccessfully tried to use the rope-a-dope technique that had defeated George
Foreman nearly a year earlier, but it was all negated by Frazier's relentless
assault and power. Between the terrific heat inside the stadium, Frazier's
assault, and his own nonchalant training, it began to seem that Ali would wilt.

New Philippines magazine featuring Ali and
Frazier together with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, First Lady Imelda Marcos with the press and other VIPs

Finally, in the tenth round, Frazier began to slow down
and tire, and Ali slowly turned the tide. In the 11th round, he used his speed
to dance more and to unload a series of fast combinations on Frazier, which
severely disfigured his face by the end of the round, swelling Frazier's eyes
to the point that nothing but a tiny slit remained open. Throughout the 12th
round, Ali continued to turn the momentum, increasingly overwhelming Frazier
and using the fact that Frazier could no longer see his right hand coming to
hit Frazier with one hard right after another. About a minute into the 13th
round, Ali landed another blistering combination on Frazier, sending the
injured fighter's mouthpiece flying into the crowd.

Maxi card with Muhammad Ali's autograph

In the 14th round, Frazier was almost blind as he stepped
in and was met once more with punishing blows from Ali. It was later revealed
that Frazier actually had a cataract in his left eye and, with the punishment
from Ali closing his right eye, was effectively fighting blind in the last
rounds of the fight.

Eddie Futch, Frazier's trainer, decided to stop the fight
between the 14th and 15th rounds. Frazier protested stopping the fight,
shouting "I want him, boss" and trying to get Futch to change his
mind. Futch simply replied, "It's all over. No one will forget what you
did here today" and signaled to the referee to end the bout.

Ali-Fraizier, Fight of a Lifetime first day cover with Joe Frazier's autograph

Ali was therefore declared the victor. He got up from his
stool, raised his arm in victory, and then collapsed onto the canvas. He was
completely spent. Ali claimed that this was the closest to dying he has ever
been.

At the post-fight press conference, Ali said, "Joe
Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna
tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him." He then announced,
"Joe Frazier is the greatest fighter in the world, next to me."